Cade Cunningham’s contract impact on the Detroit Pistons’ salary cap
NBA expert Keith Smith breaks down how Cunningham’s contract affects the Pistons salary sheet. Watch/listen to the entire “The Pistons Pulse” podcast.
The Detroit Pistons‘ priorities are coming into focus as we inch closer to the 2025 NBA Draft.
Tennessee sharpshooter Chaz Lanier has a predraft workout scheduled with the Pistons on Monday, June 2, a source told the Free Press. Lanier led the Volunteers in scoring last season and won the Jerry West Award, which goes to the top shooting guard in the country.
The 6-foot-5 wing averaged 18 points and 3.9 rebounds per game and knocked down 39.5% of his 3-pointers, on 8.2 attempts as a fifth-year senior. He played his previous four seasons at North Florida, where he averaged 19.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game on 44% shooting from 3 in 2023-24, his final season there.
Lanier is currently slated to be a second-round pick — ESPN projects him at 42nd overall to the Sacramento Kings, Yahoo has him 41st to the Golden State Warriors and The Athletic predicts he’ll go 49th to the New York Knicks. The Pistons do not have a first-round pick but have the 37th overall pick in the draft, scheduled for June 25 (first round) and June 26 (second round).
Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon has preached the importance of having adequate shooting on the floor, and Lanier would give them additional insurance on the perimeter with both Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. entering unrestricted free agency.
[ MUST WATCH: Make “The Pistons Pulse” your go-to Detroit Pistons podcast, listen available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]
[embedded content]
Follow the Pistons all year long with the best coverage at freep.com/sports/pistons.
Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters, and we may publish it online or in print.
Follow the Detroit Free Press on Instagram (@detroitfreepress), TikTok (@detroitfreepress), YouTube (@DetroitFreePress), X (@freep), and LinkedIn, and like us on Facebook (@detroitfreepress).
